Kalkaska County, Michigan

Kalkaska County
Kalkaska County
County
	Kalkaska County Government Offices in Kalkaska
	Location within the U.S. state of Michigan
	Michigan's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 44°41′N 85°05′W / 44.69°N 85.08°W
Country	United States
State	Michigan
Founded	1840 (established); 1871 (organized)
Seat	Kalkaska
Largest village	Kalkaska
Area
• Total	571 sq mi (1,480 km2)
• Land	560 sq mi (1,500 km2)
• Water	11 sq mi (30 km2) 1.9%
Population (2020)
• Total	17,939
• Estimate (2023)	18,490
• Density	31/sq mi (12/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	kalkaskacounty.net

Kalkaska County (/kælˈkæskə/ kal-KASS-kə) is located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, its population was 17,939.^[2] The county seat is Kalkaska.^[3]

Kalkaska County is part of the Traverse City metropolitan area. Although it is located on Michigan's Lower Peninsula, Kalkaska County is considered part of Northern Michigan.

History

Kalkaska County, originally named Wabassee County, was separated from Michilimackinac County in 1840,^[5] renamed in 1843.^[4]^[1] In 1851, Kalkaska County was attached to Grand Traverse County for legal purposes.^[6] The first settler in Kalkaska County was William Copeland, from England, who purchased land in the northwest corner of the county in 1855. Kalkaska County was organized in its own right on January 27, 1871. Crawford County was then temporarily attached to Kalkaska County for legal purposes.^[7]

Etymology

The county's name is a pseudo-Native American word coined by Henry Schoolcraft, a Michigan geographer and ethnologist.^[8] The name is thought to be a Chippewa word meaning flat or burned-over country. An alternative theory is that this is a neologism or neonym created by Henry Schoolcraft, originally spelled Calcasca. Some theorists suggest this is word play. Schoolcraft's family name had been Calcraft, and the Ks may have been added to make the name appear more like a Native American word.^[9]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 571 square miles (1,480 km²), of which 11 square miles (28 km²) (1.9%) are covered by water.^[10]

Kalkaska sand, the state soil of Michigan, was named after the county because of the large amounts deposited in the area from glaciers in the Ice Age.

Kalkaska County has over 80 lakes and 275 miles (443 km) of streams and rivers. Much of the county is marshland. County elevation ranges from 595 feet (181 m) to about 1,246 feet (380 m). This makes it one of the more uneven counties in the Lower Peninsula.

The Pere Marquette State Forest covers much of the county. Glaciers shaped the area, creating a unique regional ecosystem. A large portion of the area is the Grayling outwash plain, a broad outwash plain including sandy ice-disintegration ridges, jack pine barrens, some white pine-red pine forest, and northern hardwood forest. Large lakes were created by glacial action.^[11]

Lakes

Rivers

Major highways

US 131 – runs NE through the western part of the county. Enters at 4 miles (6.4 km) north of SW corner; exits into Antrim County near midpoint of north county line.
M-66 – runs north–south through west-central part of county. Passes Kalkaska.
M-72 – runs east and ESE through middle portion of county. Passes Kalkaska.

Adjacent counties

Antrim County – north
Otsego County – northeast
Crawford County – east
Roscommon County – southeast
Missaukee County – south
Wexford County – southwest
Grand Traverse County – west

Communities

Village

Kalkaska (county seat)

Civil townships

Former townships

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	424		—
1880	2,937		592.7%
1890	5,160		75.7%
1900	7,133		38.2%
1910	8,097		13.5%
1920	5,577		−31.1%
1930	3,799		−31.9%
1940	5,159		35.8%
1950	4,597		−10.9%
1960	4,382		−4.7%
1970	5,272		20.3%
1980	10,952		107.7%
1990	13,497		23.2%
2000	16,571		22.8%
2010	17,153		3.5%
2020	17,939		4.6%
2023 (est.)	18,490	^[12]	3.1%
US Decennial Census^[13] 1790-1960^[14] 1900-1990^[15] 1990-2000^[16] 2010-2018^[2]

At the 2010 United States census^[17] there were 16,571 people, 6,428 households, and 4,634 families residing in the county. The population density was 30 inhabitants per square mile (12/km²). There were 10,822 housing units at an average density of 19 per square mile (7.3/km²). By the 2020 census, its population was 17,939.

In 2010, the racial makeup of the county was 98.44% White, 0.21% Black or African American, 0.78% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.10% from other races, 0.86% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 24.6% were of German, 12.4% English, 10.4% Irish, 10.0% American, 6.3% Polish and 5.1% French ancestry. 98.8% spoke English as their first language.

Government

Kalkaska County voters have been reliably Republican from the start. They have selected the Republican Party nominee in 85% of national elections (29 of 35).

United States presidential election results for Kalkaska County, Michigan^[18]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	7,436	69.95%	3,002	28.24%	193	1.82%
2016	6,116	69.24%	2,280	25.81%	437	4.95%
2012	4,901	59.06%	3,272	39.43%	126	1.52%
2008	4,527	53.27%	3,780	44.48%	192	2.26%
2004	5,084	60.67%	3,189	38.05%	107	1.28%
2000	3,842	56.10%	2,774	40.50%	233	3.40%
1996	2,455	40.28%	2,666	43.74%	974	15.98%
1992	2,173	33.82%	2,297	35.75%	1,956	30.44%
1988	3,369	61.21%	2,092	38.01%	43	0.78%
1984	3,623	69.15%	1,595	30.44%	21	0.40%
1980	2,802	56.42%	1,807	36.39%	357	7.19%
1976	2,280	53.13%	1,957	45.61%	54	1.26%
1972	1,855	64.39%	924	32.07%	102	3.54%
1968	1,190	53.29%	753	33.72%	290	12.99%
1964	861	41.31%	1,220	58.54%	3	0.14%
1960	1,341	65.77%	693	33.99%	5	0.25%
1956	1,443	69.11%	636	30.46%	9	0.43%
1952	1,326	72.74%	483	26.49%	14	0.77%
1948	837	65.54%	400	31.32%	40	3.13%
1944	992	70.25%	409	28.97%	11	0.78%
1940	1,155	61.27%	718	38.09%	12	0.64%
1936	855	45.72%	952	50.91%	63	3.37%
1932	705	47.47%	649	43.70%	131	8.82%
1928	988	84.59%	160	13.70%	20	1.71%
1924	966	70.46%	205	14.95%	200	14.59%
1920	890	73.19%	224	18.42%	102	8.39%
1916	724	57.46%	430	34.13%	106	8.41%
1912	448	32.28%	293	21.11%	647	46.61%
1908	1,153	69.33%	356	21.41%	154	9.26%
1904	1,354	83.89%	184	11.40%	76	4.71%
1900	1,312	75.45%	361	20.76%	66	3.80%
1896	940	66.38%	422	29.80%	54	3.81%
1892	717	59.45%	389	32.26%	100	8.29%
1888	798	62.34%	400	31.25%	82	6.41%
1884	630	60.93%	369	35.69%	35	3.38%

The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, records deeds, mortgages, and vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget and has limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions—police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc.—are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.

Events

The National Trout Festival is an annual festival since 1936, held in April. It notes the heritage and sportsmanship of Kalkaska.^[19]

Education

The Northwest Educational Services, based in Traverse City, services the students in the county along with those of Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, and Leelanau. The intermediate school district offers regional special education services, early education and English learner programs, and technical career pathways for students of its districts.^[20]

Kalkaska County is served by the following regular public school districts:^[21]

References

External links

Official website

44°41′N 85°05′W / 44.69°N 85.08°W / 44.69; -85.08

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